Seams pressed open - Ditch Quilting?

[Hannelore N.]

I like to press my seams open (less bulk) but I want to stitch in the ditch on my latest quilt and I need to know if that will work. I am a newbie here, but I love The Forum! TIA

[Margo C.]

Welcome ilse-sophie!
Like almost everything else in quilting this question has two schools of thought! :roll:

Yes, it will distribute the bulk, and if you want to stitch in the ditch you can truly be "in the ditch". But....by stitching there, you will only be stitching on the threads that hold the seam together. The quilting lines really can be almost invisible, and some people are OK with this if the piecing is done on the machine. However, it the piecing is done by hand, the seam is probably not strong enough for this method.
If you press the seams to one side or the other, you can only just try to stitch on the low side of the seam and some people say that this results in a stronger quilted line. The difficulty comes when seams aren't always pressed to the same side, and you have to check (by feeling) which is actually the low side of the ditch.
Or...you can just choose one side (say the lightest value fabric) and always stitch on that side, no matter where the seam allowance falls. I call this "Near the ditch" and often do this on utility quilts.
It will probably depend on the destiny of the quilt, but how you do it is up to you. There are no quilt police on TQS!!

[Jill B.]

ditto to Margo

Just a thought, also FYI I made a baby floor quilt with no really small pieces, I opened the seams up and then used a general blanket stitch to sew in the ditch, that way the stitching grabbed the edge of the fabric as well as going down the middle of the seam.

This worked for this style of quilt but may not work for quilts with many smaller pieces e.g. the BOM Star Crazy, I dont know what style of quilt you are talking about but perhpas you could keep this in mind for a suitable quilt one day.

[Jill B.]

Yes, I would be concerned about stitching on those stitches when the seams are pressed open. It is possible that your needle would pierce the threads holding the pieces together and make them weak or break them.

[Sherry B.]

A method I have used many times is to use a decorative stitch and stitch over the ditch. That way it catches the fabric on both sides and is actually a lot easier than trying to stay in the ditch. Otherwise, like Ritzy, I would be concerned about stitching in the ditch when the seams are pressed open.

[Hannelore N.]

I have seen a quilt that was quilted in the ditch using a 4mm twin needle with the seam right in the middle. Looked great and would avoid the potential problem of not catching the fabric.

[Margo C.]

I have seen a quilt that was quilted in the ditch using a 4mm twin needle with the seam right in the middle. Looked great and would avoid the potential problem of not catching the fabric.

That would work if you like the look of railroad tracks that the bobbin creates on the back!

[Margo C.]

Thanks everyone, great ideas!

[Hannelore N.]

I never thought about it like that, Margo! If I ever make a quilt for a train enthusiast, I'll definitely get the old twin needle out.

[Hannelore N.]

Love the idea of using decorator stitches for ditch quilting. I'm not as precise as I want to be.